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MOTORING Jaguar F-Type Coupe
Torque vectoring
allows you to simply
steer around the
bend without sliding
off into a tree
RIDGEWAY JAGUAR
CUMNOR HILL, OXFORD, OX2 9PL
RIDGEWAY.OXFORD.JAGUAR.CO.UK
01865 565421
virtues of the car, again that stiffness speaking
volumes when you want absolute high speed
composure on the bends. If the V6 S is this
good, then what on earth must Big Brother V8
be like? We’ve just arrived at the Motorland
Aragon circuit and it is time to find out.
V8R
As the big F-Type Coupe V8 R’s sat in a
line in the pit lane of the Motorland Aragon
circuit – a region so famous for its motoring
enthusiasm that local authorities built this
track there – our V6 S experience hinted
that the V8 was likely to be something very
special. It was already easy to predict that
the V8 and the V6 buyer customer are unlikely
to be the same. I was joined by a German
woman rally driver instructor for the initial
track familiarisation laps, her own ‘demo’ lap
an immediate indication that everything in the
V8 was a noticeable step up the ladder – the
surge of acceleration, the instant bite of the
ceramic brakes, the added grip from the 20
inch wheels and the ferocious tenacity on
the bends achieved from stiffer suspension
combined with greater grip. Behind the wheel
it felt very different to the V6 S – brutally
powerful, raw, like a wild animal that will
only be tame as long as you can control it,
otherwise it will unleash itself with fury. The
best way to demonstrate that is to hit the
throttle hard a little too early on a bend and
the instant grab and shove of power says
‘hey, this is 550 PS and 680Nm of torque – do
you know what you’re doing?’ But in truth,
that is the endearing quality of this car – it is a
challenge to your ability to exploit it. It’s also
rewarding learning to use the carbon ceramic
brakes properly – none of this roadcraft
progressive braking stuff, just accelerate hard
then brake really hard just before the turn-in
and floor it! Being ceramics they are 100%
effective every time, and what’s more you
can do it all day with absolute consistency as
there’s no brake fade. That’s how ceramics
were made to be used, and there’s value as
we suggested to Jaguar in finding a way of
teaching their customers how to use them.
The V8 had another interesting surprise for us
in the guise of ‘torque vectoring’….
Torque vectoring
Let’s skip the science of it and look at how
it helps you in a real life situation. In short
you go into a sharp bend too fast in the wet
and panic by taking your foot off the pedals.
Torque vectoring allows you to simply steer
around the bend without sliding off into a tree.
It does this by using computer aided braking
to redistribute torque between the rear
wheels. All you need to do is steer through
the bend at the originally intended angle and
unbelievably the car takes that line. We tried
it on a wet karting circuit and it never failed
to keep the car on track. As long as you have
the courage to trust in technology it will save
you – if not and you ‘oversteer’ the car too
much, traction control comes in and saves
you anyway. Brilliant technology.
We drove the V8s’ on the same exciting
road route back to our hotel, the V8 upping
the stakes somewhat in just about every
area of performance, but this time requiring
considered constraint due to its supercar
pace and speed, and not least the engaging
excitement of an even more raucious
exhaust note. You know this car is coming
from a quarter of a mile away, but it’s so
exciting that you’d sit and wait for it each
and every time.